2 men guilty in Red Line electrocution

Homeless victim fell onto tracks during fight

March 14, 2011

Separate juries found two men guilty of murder Monday in the electrocution of a Chicago man who fell onto the tracks during a melee on a CTA Red Line platform.

Maurice Evans, 25, and Antwaun Thompson, 29, were among four young men caught on Roosevelt subway station surveillance cameras kicking and beating Daniel McKenzie, 43, before he tumbled onto the electrified third rail.

Attorneys for the two argued that McKenzie and two others with him had instigated a fight on the train that spilled onto the platform once it pulled into the station early on July 27, 2008. They also said it was impossible to tell on the grainy video whether McKenzie was pushed from the platform, fell or jumped on his own to escape his attackers.

But prosecutors said it didn't matter. They compared the defendants' culpability to a game of no-limit poker, saying once Evans and Thompson decided to engage in the beating, they were "all in."

"You don't get to later say, 'Well, you know, I wanted to beat him on the platform, but I really didn't mean for him to die, so I'm not responsible,'" said Assistant Cook County State's Attorney Kim Ward in her closing argument in Evans' trial. "You're all in. You're responsible for the whole thing."